


Super Glue and Shattered Glass

by VenetaPsi



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Adoption, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, All characters are human, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Anxiety, Bi-Curiosity, Bi-Curious Character, Brother Feels, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Bullying, Character Study, Coming Out, Daddy Issues, Dogs, Drug Dealing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone has a lot of issues but they're healing, Family, Father Figures, Found Family, Gay Male Character, Gen, Healing, High School, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Literate Sylnan (kinda), Loss of Parent(s), Loss of Spouse, Main Character Mountain, Mental Health Issues, Mountain is such a Dad figure, Orphans, Panic Attacks, Pansexual Character, Party as Family, Poor use of google translate, Protective Family, Russian Transfer Student Velrisa, School, School Counselor Mountain, Social Anxiety, Social Commentary, Sporty Taxi, Student everyone else, Sylnan struggles to read, Teaching, Team as Family, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Theater Kid Br'aad, Underage Drinking, Unintentionally abusive relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25231888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenetaPsi/pseuds/VenetaPsi
Summary: Mountain looked up in startled annoyance as the woman plopped down heavily in the chair across his desk, looking fed up and exhausted and quite entitled for having barged in without any permission.“Can I help you?” Mountain asked carefully, making sure his voice showed exactly how pleased he was with the woman’s rude arrival. She either didn’t notice, or didn’t care.“Someone needs to fix that Vengolor,” She snapped,“Vengolor,” Mountain responded, setting down the form and pen in his hands with a sigh. So much for wrapping that all up today. “Junior or senior?”
Relationships: Br'aad Vengolor & Sylnan Vengolor, Katherine/Sylnan Vengolor, Mountain & Br'aad Vengolor, Mountain & Jack (Just Roll With It), Mountain & Sylnan Vengolor, Mountain & Taxi (Just Roll With It), Mountain & Velrisa (Just Roll With It), Oriana/Taxi (Just Roll With It), Taxi/Br'aad Vengolor, Ugarth & Sylnan Vengolor, Ugarth/Sylnan Vengolor
Comments: 36
Kudos: 113





	1. One

Rocky Beaumont- or ‘Mountain’, as people so affectionately called him due to his shortness, despised his job. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like highschoolers- well, okay, that was a lie. He didn’t. It was that whenever he had to do the duties of a school counselor, he always got so emotionally invested. 

Which was a good thing, really, most people would say. He genuinely cared about each student that crossed his desk. He helped them to the best of his ability, no matter how small the issue was. 

But he didn’t like emotions. Hadn’t liked them in years. It was why he spent his weekends at a bar or nursing a bottle on the couch, watching movies or shows. It was why he tried to do more paperwork than actual consoling each day in his office in Quai High School.

He’d studied psychology for years; went to college for it. He knew his avoidance of feelings and unhealthy coping mechanisms were directly a result of unreleased grief over his wife’s passing. He could recognize and admit that. 

He wasn’t gonna stop, though. 

But the last thing he expected to happen on a Friday afternoon, two hours before school ended, was for a furious teacher to storm into his office, slamming the door open. 

Mountain looked up in startled annoyance as the woman plopped down heavily in the chair across his desk, looking fed up and exhausted and quite entitled for having barged in without any permission. 

“Can I help you?” Mountain asked carefully, making sure his voice showed exactly how pleased he was with the woman’s rude arrival. She either didn’t notice, or didn’t care. 

“Someone needs to fix that Vengolor,” She snapped, and he recognized her now. Greying hair up in a whip snap bun, clothes pressed and too crisp and tight to be comfortable, surely. She taught senior english. He’d had multiple students sobbing in the exact same chair she sat in now about pressures from her class. 

“Vengolor,” Mountain responded, setting down the form and pen in his hands with a sigh. So much for wrapping that all up today. “Junior or senior?”

Vengolor was a very familiar name as Quai. Sylnan and Br’aad Vengolor- orphan brothers and proud of it, made a splash immediately upon their freshman years. Sylnan, the eldest, was charming in a slightly awkward, slightly snarky way. Dark haired, quiet voiced- Mountain knew a fair share of girls had hopeless crushes on the very introverted young man. He was a terrible student academically- had failed his Junior year once- but he was quite respectful.

Br’aad, his younger brother- well three weeks into his freshman year, Br’aad had started a new club that had to be shut down after they set off the fire alarm in the entire science wing. After that, he’d joined theater, quickly becoming their prized darling with his incredible performance and acting abilities; seemingly natural to his already flamboyant ways of gallivanting. Where his brother was quiet, Br’aad was loud. Bright blonde and green eyed, the spritely, bouncy freshman had grown into quite the man, a Junior as he was now. 

He was also quite the mischief maker. 

Mountain quite expected to receive another rant about ‘Br’aad Vengolor’s Escapades(™)’ so he was startled when the woman sighed rather aggressively and snapped, “The older. Sylnan.”

Mountain stared at her silently. Sylnan rarely received behavioral misconduct reports- (despite Mountain being positive he dealt pot to the students-) and so he waited for the woman to continue. Maybe the drug dealing had finally been revealed. 

“He doesn’t care about his academics at all. He barely tries. All the work he turns in his nowhere near the requirements and of horrible quality. He’s failing 12th grade english, and rightly so!” She swiped a strand of silver hair behind her hair and glared fiercely as Mountain as though daring him to refute. “He sits there in class and ignores what I say. If I ask him a question, he won’t answer until I get his attention and then he asks me to repeat it again. The other students encourage him by laughing every time I have to repeat myself. He’s disrupting the learning of the entire class by purposely ignoring class and all of it’s requirements. I am at my wits end with his utter disregard for his grade and the learning of others.”

Mountain stared at the woman for a few seconds longer, not bothering to tamp down the annoyance bubbling up. Weren’t teachers bloody taught how to deal with students not participating? Wasn’t that part of their  _ job _ , to be trained in that?

She looked at him expectantly- as if this was solely  _ his _ problem to fix, and Mountain sighed deeply. 

“I’ll talk to him,” he growled, barely restraining a  _ now get the fuck out of my office. _ The woman nodded primly and smirked like she’d gotten her way- and really, why was a teacher so satisfied with tattling on a student- and rose smoothly to her feet, turning and rushing out of the office. 

She didn’t even close the door behind her. Mountain let out an aggrieved sigh and buried his face in his arms. 

There went his peaceful day. 

  
  
  


Sixth period was in progress when Mountain stopped procrastinating in his office and finally began his journey down the mostly-empty halls towards 26-B; the economics class of one Sylnan Vengolor. 

The highschool always felt slightly eerie when class was in session, Mountain thought. Less so when the voices of students filtered through open doors, but the long, wide hallways always felt too large when there weren’t hundreds of teens filling them like a flood. 

He paused outside the door to the economics classroom and braced himself with a sigh before opening the door and poking his head in. Most of the students’ attention was on the young man at the front of the room, drawing an equation on the whiteboard. Mountain swept the room until his attention settled on the teen in question, at the far side of the room. 

Sylnan was an objectively handsome young man- Mountain knew that was a fact from the amount of whispers he heard in the halls of people complimenting and lamenting over the elder brother. Unlike most boys, puberty had done him immediately well; his face was rather clear, and his shoulder length dark hair; pulled back in the ponytail Mountain always saw him with- framed a pale, relatively angular face. Because of that, plus his extra year on the rest of his grade, he looked more mature, older, then the sea of students around him. 

Sylnan’s focus was not on the teacher in front; rather he stared out the window, back to Mountain, head leaning on his hand. 

Mountain cleared his throat gruffly- drawing the startled attention of the students around him, but more importantly, finally making the teacher aware of his presence as the man cut off mid explanation. 

“Can I steal Sylnan for a second?” Mountain asked quietly, nodding at the boy in question as Sylnan finally turned to look at him at the voicing of his name. 

Immediately the teen’s face went for slightly tired, slightly curious, to a blank, resigned mask. Mountain bit down a frown and made a mental note of the instantly closed off expression. 

The teacher nodded at Sylnan as the dark-haired teen rose to his feet, slipping his untouched notebook and binder back into his backpack before swinging it over his shoulder and grabbing his coat off the back of his chair. Mountain stepped out of the room, waiting for Sylnan to exit as well, then began to walk down the hall back towards his office, glancing back once to make sure the teen was following. 

“...is Br’aad alright?” The teen asked carefully after a few minutes of walking in silence. His tone was almost painfully neutral. He was prodding for information about why he was called out. Quite masterfully, as well. 

“Your brother, as far as I know, is quite enjoying himself down in orchestra at the moment,” Mountain responded, not bothering to hide the edge of sarcasm slipping into his tone. He was rewarded with a flicker of a surprised smile on Sylnan’s lips before his expression schooled once more. 

As they entered the main office, Mountain gave a vague nod to the petite girl at the secretary’s desk- who smiled back, and gestured towards the door of his office, ushering Sylnan in. 

“Door open or shut?” he asked absently, and after a second Sylnan quietly responded, “You can shut it.”

Not surprising, the boy obviously valued his privacy. Mountain shut the door with a gentle click and gestured to the chairs, sitting in his own as Sylnan sank into the chair his english teacher had previously occupied, lowering his backpack to rest at his feet. 

“...what do you think of Ms. Moore?” Mountain asked after the teen had situated himself and looked up expectantly. There was a flash of annoyance across Sylnan’s face- a flicker of ‘I knew it’ before it was back to it’s unnervingly perfect blankness. 

“She knows that she’s talking about,” Sylnan sais, and if not for years of working with teens, Mountain would’ve believed him totally at ease. “She genuinely is interested in and cares about english as a subject.”

Before Mountain could say something else, Sylnan let out a tired sigh, and sounding aggrieved, asked; “Just be straight with me. What did she say.” 

Mountain watched him a second, then gruffly replied, “She said you’re failing her class. That you don’t try on assignments and that you purposely choose not to pay attention. That you disrupt the class by never being able to answer her questions.”

There was an almost tangible silence in the room for a second before Sylnan sagged back in his chair, rubbing his temples. 

“I see,” was all the teen replied. His tone was stiff, and resigned. He was preparing himself for a lecture, perhaps one he’d heard a million times. 

“Do you like english?” Mountain asked instead, trying to soften his voice. He was never good at being ‘gentle’ in the way some counselors were. He tended to go more for blunt and rough, which a lot of teens actually seemed to appreciate. But Sylnan was so tense, and this was going to go nowhere if he couldn’t relax him, at least a bit. 

Mountain was already more inclined towards believing the boy over the teacher, and he hadn’t even heard Sylnan’s side yet. Fuck. There he went, getting invested again. 

Sylnan raised his eyes to meet Mountain’s; gaze fierce, as though sizing him up, before bluntly replying; “No. I hate it. And I  _ am _ failing.”

Mountain was well aware, he’d looked up Sylnan’s grades in order to find his sixth period classroom. He didn’t reply though, waiting for Sylnan to continue. For a second he thought the teen might not, before Sylnan turned his gaze away towards the wall; the first vulnerable gesture as his shoulder curled in slightly. 

“...it’s difficult. The reading and writing- the expectations are so high.”

“You find reading hard?” Mountain asked carefully, and Sylnan’s head snapped up, dark eyes burning with a sudden, defiant fire. 

“I’m not stupid.”

“...no, I don’t think you are,” Mountain agreed quietly, watching the teen across from him, wind whirling. He had an idea. 


	2. Two

When Mountain had a goal, he did not back down from it. As of now, his goal was simple- get Sylnan to graduate at the end of the school year. 

It was going to be rough; the teen was failing english and dangerously close to failing everything else besides his psychology elective. But damn if Mountain wasn't going to try to help. 

It took a lot of careful prodding, more listening than speaking, to get Sylnan to talk. It was obvious that the teen was used to being independent, and not asking for help. It was also painfully clear none of his teachers had ever tried to help him, either. 

Mountain’s running theory was that Sylnan was dyslexic, and more than likely had some sort of attention deficit. He couldn’t diagnose, and wasn’t about to- but he could try techniques for both disabilities and see if they helped. 

He listened as Sylnan described- carefully, cautiously- what it was like to try and do an english essay. How he struggled with research because, quote; “It’s hours of scrolling down page after page of information, and I always get distracted. The words swim. And then I have to take all the shit that’s already there and rewrite it. How is that helpful?! Why should I rewrite what other people have already written for me?”

Mountain’s first offer was for Sylnan to spend his fifth hour- his english class, in Mountain’s office instead of the classroom. Less distractions, no stupid teacher breathing down his neck- not that Mountain said that aloud. 

Sylnan seemed hesitant, like he was unsure if Ms. Moore would permit that. Which she would, if Mountain had his way. 

“I can have your teacher email me the work for the day. You can do it here, and I’ll do my work, and maybe a quiet room will help.” He tried to make the suggestion sound simple, and effortless. No big deal. He got the sense Sylnan did not like accepting help. 

It shone in his eyes though; the  _ desire _ to get away from his english teacher. How appealing the idea was. 

“Alright,” Sylnan agreed quietly, and Mountain barely resisted jumping up and doing a fist pump. 

It was strange, having someone else in the room with him for nearly a solid hour. Mountain was so used to the quiet, the stillness that he kept glancing up, startled, all of the next week when his mind realized Sylnan was there. 

The weekend he had spent in his normal ‘I’m going to block out the world’ stupor- but he’d also been doing so much emailing, negotiating that he’d been more sober then he had been in a long time. It took a lot of effort, but Ms. Moore seemed as ready to be rid of Sylnan as Sylnan was to escape her; and so a little bit of sweet talking with the principle got Mountain permission to let the boy spend fifth hour in his office. 

Monday before school began, he dragged a small, unused table and an extra chair out of the teacher’s lounge and stuck it in the corner of his room like a makeshift desk. When Sylnan curiously poked his head in, a few minutes into passing time, Mountain gestured him in distractedly, scribbling to finish the form he was finally wrapping up. 

“I got a desk...thing, for you,” Mountain jabbed a finger at the desk without looking up, hurriedly scrawling a signature before putting his pen down, relieved, and sliding the paper away. “Okay, thank fuck that’s over- I mean, uh- yay. Responsibilities.”

Sylnan’s lips twitched at the language however, and Mountain made a note not to bother censoring himself around the elder brother. Mountain rolled his chair over to his side desk to open his laptop and pull up Ms. Moore’s email as Sylnan settled into the chair by the desk, watching him expectantly and a tad nervously. Mountain frowned as he scanned the email- it seemed like a fuck ton of unnecessary work. 

“Here, come here.” Mountain gestured Sylnan over, and after a second the teen rolled his way over in his chair, behind Mountain’s desk to look over his shoulder at the laptop. Mountain scrolled through the email slowly, showing off it’s size, and taking in Sylnan’s grimace. 

“This seems like bullshit,” Mountain announced, and Sylnan’s eyes widened before he let out a soft chuckle. “Now I was reading it and  _ this-” _ he jabbed his finger at the screen, pointing at the line talking about a venn diagram needing to be done and turned in- “Seems to be the only thing here that would be turned in for a grade. And because of that, probably the only thing here with test info on it. So how about we skip the rest and just do that?”

Sylnan stared at him like he was crazy, and Mountain shrugged haphazardly. “What, unless you want to go look up this fuckin’ crazy author’s middle name and favorite flavor of cheese?”

“Not really,” Sylnan responded dryly, a slow smiling spreading across his lips, and Mountain slammed the laptop shut with a flourish. 

“Well then. Venn diagram it is.”

As Sylnan rolled his way back over to the table and started pulling out a pencil and some paper, Mountain scanned his desk, trying to find the other thing he’d grabbed after school Friday, with hopes it would make Sylnan’s reading a little easier. Finally he found it- a large, heavy tome he’d slid under his desk. He grabbed it and hopped to his feet, walking over to place it on Sylnan’s desk. Sylnan immediately eyed the large book warily. 

“This is one of the old english textbooks,” Mountain explained, tapping it. “Teachers don’t use them anymore. But I figured you could do your research here instead of on the computer? I don’t like staring at screens. Makes my eyes hurt. ‘Specially ‘cause of this.” He motioned to his left eye- the one he knew was milky and scarred, and saw Sylnan track the motion with an expression of curiosity finally fulfilled. “Thought maybe you’d want a physical copy as well.”

“...thanks,” Sylnan replied, sounding almost a tad shy as he slid the book over to himself and opened it, thumbing through it curiously. 

“I’m no english teacher, but let me know if you want help,” Mountain yawned, and waited for Sylnan to nod absently before heading back to his desk and attempting to continue his own work. He didn’t get much done; his attention kept being drawn to the teen in his office, distracted by the soft scratching of Sylnan’s pencil or the flipping of pages. Unlike what Mountain had seen in the economics classroom, or what Ms. Moore had described- Sylnan seemed to focus incredibly well. His eyebrows furrowed when he read from the book and he’d occasionally look away from the page, wincing- but he got his work done, be it a bit slowly. Even Sylnan sounded slightly startled when he said aloud, “I finished it.” 

“Set it here,” Mountain offered, patting his desk and looking up from his laptop. “I’ll take it to your teacher after school.” Sylnan complied, setting the page down, then idled for a second, seeming hesitant. There was still twenty minutes of the period left, Mountain noticed. 

“Should I just...do work for other classes now?” Sylnan asked cautiously, and Mountain peered up at him for a second before shrugging. 

“Do what you want. Work, draw- I don’t care. You got your work done early, it’s your free time.” 

Sylnan’s expression lit up- visibly relieved. Mountain was definitely right about the attention span thing. Even if he had told Sylnan to do other work, Mountain doubted it would have gotten done. Sylnan would’ve just been too distracted- and then he would’ve felt bad for not doing it. No need for that. So for the next twenty minutes Mountain curiously watched Sylnan do about fifteen different things- from absently doodling to playing on his phone (an old one, Mountain noticed), to even making a paper crane out of scrap notebook paper. There was a slight bounce in the teen’s step when the bell rang and Sylnan gathered up his things, stepping out of the room. 

“Bye,” he said, pausing in the doorway, and Mountain looked up and grinned. 

“See ya, kid.” 


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New characters!!!

Mountain wasn’t prepared for the amount of pride he felt when Sylnan practically flew into his office three weeks later after school, face flushed and breathing heavily from obviously running in the halls, a paper packet clenched in his hand. He hadn’t been in Mountain’s office that day- he’d taken his test in the classroom with the rest of the students. But Sylnan’s smile was radiant, and he gave off an infectious, almost childish excitement. 

“I GOT A B MINUS!” he all but shrieked, and Mountain’s jaw dropped as Sylnan thrust the paper into his hands. Sure enough, atop the test was a 26/32 in green ink, and beside it, a ‘81.25%’.

A slow smile spread across Mountain’s lips as he handed the test back and Sylnan rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, more energetic and unreserved then Mountain had ever seen him. 

“Good job kid,” Mountain praised, chest burning with an unusual, genuine sort of warmth that only increased when Sylnan smiled down at him happily. “Have a good weekend.”

“I will,” Sylnan promised. “Thank you, Mr. Beaumont.”

“Mountain,” The counselor corrected, waving a hand. Sylnan tilted his head to the side slightly, then nodded. 

“Thank you Mountain.” 

“Go brag to your brother,” Mountain ordered lightly, and Sylnan laughed, shouting a; “Oh Br’aad won’t hear the end of it!” over his shoulder as he headed out of the office to make his way home. 

Mountain watched him go with a small smile, chin resting in his palm. What did you know. The elder Vengolor could show emotion, just like anyone else. 

For once, Mountain didn’t drink on a Friday night. 

  
  
  


It became such a normal thing, to have Sylnan in his office. As the end of the month ticked by and December began, it became frankly routine- Sylnan would come in, they’d figure out what in the email was worth doing, and then Sylnan would do his work- increasingly quickly. Or if it was a multiday thing, Mountain would stop Sylnan after forty five minutes, when the teen began to grow increasingly restless. 

Then, they’d spend the rest of the period chatting. At first Sylnan just entertained himself, but slowly they grew into having conversations- talking about teachers, about subjects- Sylnan asking questions about psychology, Mountain telling the story behind his eye and Sylnan talking about the adventures of him and his little brother when they were younger. 

It was a nice break from the monotony of Mountain’s daily work, and the satisfaction of seeing Sylnan open up and relax a little more, day by day, made it all feel worth it. 

However the last thing Mountain had expected the first week of December, was for the other Vengolor to walk into his office after school on a Wednesday. 

  
  
  


“You’re Mountain, right?”

Mountain glanced up from the rubix cube he was fiddling with, surprised at the new, yet familiar voice. Idling in the doorway was Quai’s golden boy himself- Br’aad Vengolor in all his glory. 

The teen looked more or less how he always did- jeans and a t-shirt with about three open hoodies over that; long blondish-brown hair currently in a french braid down his back. He had a graceful way of standing and moving that Mountain recognized from watching the school’s plays. 

“I am,” Mountain conceded, setting his multicolored fiddle toy down and leaning back in his chair. “How can I help you, Br’aad?”

Br’aad didn’t seem surprised in the least that Mountain knew his name- which was fair, Mountain got the sense everyone in the  _ school _ knew Br’aad’s name. 

“Sylnan told me about you,” Br’aad admitted, stepping into the office and shutting the door behind him with a quiet ‘click’. Mountain automatically noted the action, the desire for privacy. “Thank you for that, by the way. He seems to...dread school less, now.”

“I’m flattered- he talks about me?” Mountain replied dryly, figuring Br’aad wouldn’t appreciate a reply like ‘I’m just doing my job’. Br’aad snickered and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. There were tiny golden hoops in his lobes, Mountain noticed. 

“Quite often, actually.” Br’aad waved that away with his hand like it wasn’t important, however. “But I’m not here about Sylnan.” 

Mountain motioned to the chair across from him, but Br’aad shook his head. “This won’t take long. There’s a new student. Velrisa Greyrock.” 

Mountain knew the girl in question. She’d moved from Russia with her uncle to the states recently. She was a junior like Br’aad, but Mountain didn’t know much about her besides that. 

“I know her. From Russia, right?” Mountain asked, and Br’aad nodded. 

“Yeah. She joined tech for theater and she’s in my chemistry class. But see- she doesn’t speak English. At least not very well. She’s struggling, bad. I don’t think she understands what the teachers are saying, but they still expect her to do the same work and do it in english, no less.”

Mountain’s eyes widened in understanding, and he gave Br’aad a nod. “You’re worried about her?”

Br’aad nodded, taking on a serious demeanor Mountain hadn’t seen in the showboy before. “We’re friends, I guess. At least we do partner labs together in chem. I think she’s really smart- just, there’s a language barrier. The teachers are being so unfair with her. And you helped Sylnan…” Br’aad trailed off, looking nervous, like he just now realized he might have overstepped. Mountain hurried to nod his agreement. 

“I’ll talk to her. Help her if I can. Velrisa, right?”

“She goes by Vel.” Br’aad smiled at him- something small and genuine, and then he was gone; had turned and headed out the door. Mountain stared at the open door the younger Vengolor had vanished through, and realized that maybe he’d bitten off slightly more than he could chew with the two brothers. 

He turned to his laptop, pulled up Powerschool and typed in ‘Velrisa Greyrock’. 

  
  
  


Velrisa was a pale girl with long, dark hair that fell in gentle curls down her back, dressed in a variety of purples and greys- Black leggings, a long grey woolen sweater and a violet scarf. She knocked quietly on the frame of Mountain’s open doorway, startling him from his focus as he glanced up to see her watching him with curious, intelligent eyes. 

“Hello,” he greeted, and Velrisa gave him a small, slightly hesitant smile and quietly echoed a;

“Hello.” Her voice was heavily accented, pronunciation slightly off. “...Br’aad said...to see you?”

“Yeah.” Mountain waved her in, and she settled herself neatly on the chair across from him, hands folded in her lap. “Can you speak much English?”

“Only a little,” She admitted quietly. “Br’aad teaches me. He is a good work partner.”

“Is the work hard?” He asked carefully, and she squinted at him for a second, thinking. 

“Speaking is hard,” She said after a second's hesitation. “Listening is hard. I translate written instructions. With phone.”

Her speaking was rough, but impressive, especially if she’d only started picking up English since she’d moved here, which was only a few weeks ago. 

“Would you like help?” Mountain asked. “What is the hardest part?”

Velrisa frowned, face contorting in a grimace. “.... _ Lektsii. _ No...I do not know the English word.”

Mountain frowned before pulling over his laptop. Google translate was going to have to be enough. He pulled up a small Russian clickable keyboard on screen and turned it to the young woman, motioning to it. Her eyes lit up as she typed in whatever she had said. 

‘Lectures’, Google told him. 

“I have an idea,” Mountain offered, and she nodded curiously, gaze intently focused on him. “The teachers make a list of the topics they cover in their lectures, and then me and you find Russian sites covering the same topics.”

She didn’t seem to understand him, so he put various things into google translate until he was able to translate it back to roughly ‘Teachers compile a list of topics covered in lectures. Then we will find sites in Russian on the same topics for you to read.’

She seemed in agreement with him, and Mountain knew this was a temporary solution. She couldn’t self teach herself all of her classes and they couldn’t use purely google translate to communicate. But the school was not equipped for a student who didn’t speak english and who’s first language wasn’t Spanish, so this would have to do until he could get the school board to get some more technology or do some research. 

“Thank you,” She said as she rose to leave, and Mountain nodded. 

“Thank Br’aad,” He offered. “He told me you could use some help.” She smiled slightly and nodded as well, lighting up a little. Mountain was glad Br’aad had made friends with the girl. He watched her go and got ready for Sylnan to show up in roughly twenty minutes, drafting an email to Velrisa’s teachers. 

Holy shit high schoolers were exhausting. 

He was starting to not quite hate it as much, however. 


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our final party member has entered the arena! Oh, and what's this? A relationship???

Mountain slammed the brakes of his car, hard- cursing as the joly knocked him forward and locked his seatbelt uncomfortably tight against his chest. He pulled off to the side into the school parking lot, quickly turning the car off and hopping out. 

He’d been on his way home, but the sight of someone sitting in the bleachers of the football practice-field/track had caught his attention. It was hours after school was out- even clubs were over, and the sky was just beginning to darken; snow coming down in pale speckles, dusting the sidewalk enough that he left wet tracks behind as he hurried towards the gate to the track. 

Who in the absolute bloody fuck was out in the cold at this hour. 

He ducked out onto the track and began to move towards the figure, a mix of concern and annoyance bubbling up inside of him. 

“HEY!” Mountain yelled at the top of his lungs as he approached- and the person flinched-  _ visibly _ flinched, Mountain could see if from here, head snapping up. 

As he neared, Mountain saw a student...actually, that he didn’t recognize. They were clearly a student- a tall adolescent boy, but Mountain didn’t expressly know him. 

“Why are you out here in the snow?” He asked carefully, quieter, as he drew near, and observed that the teen was looking at him with wide eyes. 

“I uh...uh…” The teen stuttered nervously, staring at Mountain like he was the most intimidating man he’d ever seen- and Mountain knew by experience he wasn’t. “Just- just sitting.”

“In the snow,” Mountain deadpanned. “Hours after schools out. The sun is setting, kid.”

“I missed the bus, okay?” The kid snapped back defensively, curling in on himself. “I was at a club, and I missed the city bus that went where I needed to go, and I have to wait for the next one.”

Mountain glanced the kid over, once. Tall, lanky; hair riddled with curls in a gingery-brown, face dotted with freckles. Wide green eyes stared at him back. He looked athletic- and at the same time, so pale that Mountain wondered if he ever got out. 

“And when’s your bus?”

“...in thirty eight minutes,” The teen admitted quietly. 

Mountain sighed deeply, running a hand over his face. 

“Let me drive you home, kid. The snow’s just gonna get worse.” At the teen’s obvious hesitation, Mountain continued; “I’m Mr. Beaumont- but everyone calls me Mountain. I’m one of the counselors.”

“...the Vengolor brothers talk highly of you,” the teen replied after a moment. Mountain wondered despairingly if the entire school got their opinions from the Vengolors. Gods help them all. 

“Yes or no to the ride, kid?” Mountain asked, rubbing his numbing hands together. “And what’s your name?” 

The boy glanced around him helplessly, then let out a long, resigned sigh. “...’m Taxi,” He mumbled as he stood up, shuffling on his feet. “Lead the way, I guess.”

Mountain did indeed lead the teen back to his car, turning it on and blasting the heat as Taxi slipped into the passenger seat. His lips were blue and his face pale when the light of the car finally shone on him, and Mountain was suddenly very thankful he’d noticed him when he did. 

He unlocked his phone and opened google maps before handing it over to the teen with a murmured, ‘just type in your address.’ Taxi did with visibly shaking fingers before handing the device back and shoving his hands in his pockets. 

The drive to Taxi’s house passed in relative silence; just the radio playing softly, but Mountain could see the teen bopping his head slightly to the music as they went and silently turned it up. Eventually he pulled up in front of a small house with a cabin-like aesthetic, and Taxi grabbed his backpack before giving Mountain a look and a shy, ‘thank you.’

“Wait-” Mountain reached over towards his own bag in the backseat and wrestled out one of the small cards each counselor carried holding it out towards him. “It has my phone number. Just text me if you miss your bus again, for gods sakes, kid. It’s winter.”

Taxi took the card and gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” he said again, a little more confidently, and Mountain watched to make sure he got inside before pulling away and heading towards his own house, rubbing an eye with the heel of his hand. 

__ _ Teenagers. _

  
  
  


The best thing in Mountain’s life, in his humble opinion, was Jack. Jack was his dog- large and growly and the most cuddly, non-ferocious thing you’d ever see. Mountain was exceedingly grateful he’d received Jack well enough trained to be able to trust the dog to stay at home while he was at work and not destroy the house. But on occasion, he’d bundle Jack up into the car and take him to school. 

Usually that meant a day of everyone in the halls at passing time stopping by the main office to coo at the dog and pet him and ruffle his ears. Which was fair, Jack was adorable. Mountain tended to just stand there, holding the leash and gloating smugly, because yes. His dog was amazing. 

The second time he saw Taxi after the football field incident was on one of those such days. The teen must have not had a seventh hour, because he was in the halls while seventh period was in session, as Mountain was using the empty cafeteria to play fetch with Jack (totally against the rules in so many ways, but he was damn good at his job, they weren’t about to fire him). 

“You have a dog!” The excited, surprised voice caused Mountain to turn and look at the entrance to the cafeteria where the familiar red-headed teen was standing, eyes wide. 

“Yep,” Mountain announced proudly, reaching down to ruffle Jack’s ears as the dog bounded back up with the slobbery tennis ball. “You wanna pet him? He’s very friendly.”

“Yes,” Taxi breathed before Mountain had even finished speaking, hurrying over and crouching slightly to meet the dog eye to eye. Mountain snorted as immediately Jack launched himself at Taxi, licking at his face and jumping up to land his front paws on Taxi’s knees. 

“Hi to you too!” Taxi giggled, ruffling Jack’s sides and turning his head away, laughing, to try and avoid a slobbery tongue from touching his lips. “What’s your name?”

“He’s Jack,” Mountain supplied, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against a nearby support beam, smiling down at the sight. 

“Hi Jack,” Taxi cooed as the dog finally settled down enough to just butt his head against Taxi’s legs. “Good boy.”

The teen petted and teased the dog for a few more minutes, and Mountain was about to ask why he wasn’t in class- ask if he indeed didn’t have a seventh hour- when a girl's voice rang out across the hall. 

“Taxi!” 

Taxi’s head popped up and he turned, still crouching, to face the doorway he’d entered from. Mountain mirrored his movement, and immediately his gaze fell upon a young woman, a student he knew of from other staff, but had never met. 

Oriana was a pretty, tall, almost too slim girl who’s most defining feature was her blue hair; dyed a dark, shimmering tealish-cerulian. Mountain knew teachers loved her; she was commanding, competent and a straight A student, not to mention the leader of the student council. Her head was tilted to the side slightly, as though taking in the scene before her. 

“I was wondering where you’d run off to,” She said smoothly, a hint of amusement in her voice as Taxi sheepishly rose to his feet. Mountain quietly watched the two, looking back and forth, curious. 

“Sorry love,” Taxi apologized with a chuckle, and ahh, that explained that. “You know. Dog.”

“I know,” Oriana replied, shaking her head in what seemed like vaguely fond exasperation. “Mr. Beaumont,” the girl greeted, turning to nod at Mountain. “Your dog?”

“Oriana, right?” He replied, and after she nodded again, he stood up straight, reaching down to put Jack back on his leash. “Yeah, his name is Jack.”

“Hello Jack,” She said, but she didn’t seem to have much interest in the animal, unlike Taxi, as she raised her head to look at her boyfriend. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah, lets,” Taxi agreed, giving Jack one last pat and giving a wave that Mountain returned as he walked towards Oriana, reaching out to lace his fingers through hers as she raised an open palm towards him. 

Mountain watched the strange pair vanish around the corner, hand in hand. 

He had never quite understood how dog lovers and non-dog lovers could ever possibly be in a relationship together. 


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm I'm debating if this story should continue being only from Mountain's pov or if it would be easier to have bits following other characters too. Thoughts?

As December neared its end, the stress of finals began to press down on everyone. Mountain could see it written on the faces of students and staff alike. The few weeks right before winter break were always the hardest for counselors, because the high amounts of tension meant a lot of anxiety, a lot of issues and sadly, a lot of fights. 

A noticeable tension had returned to Sylnan. His focus, which had increased greatly, was beginning to wean again, and he was less chatty than he had been. More closed off, and Mountain could practically see the bubble of nervousness surrounding him. 

Mountain did his best to help- he even sat and studied with the teen a few times. However it took him by surprise when Sylnan admitted that he actually didn’t mind the nervousness. 

“Usually it’s hopeless for me and finals, so I don’t give a shit,” He admitted one day with a shrug. “The anxiety makes it clear I actually care this time. I think I have a chance.” And despite the negative emotions, Sylnan grinned at him. 

Mountain was so fucking proud. 

There were two weeks until finals, but only one before the first theater presentation of the school year, and it showed in how the theater kids were running all over the place like chickens with their heads cut off. Vel actually told Mountain the most about it; in only a week and a half, her english was much better- and her place on the tech crew gave her a lot of inside knowledge that Mountain half felt some of the student body would  _ pay _ to get their hands on. 

So it was through Velrisa that Mountain learned Br’aad was acting ‘off’. 

“He’s quiet,” She told him, voice soft and laced with concern as she idled in his doorway before going off to lunch. “Maybe it’s...the work. Of the play. But the others say he doesn’t get nervous before shows. His laugh is wrong. Too high. Sounds…” she trailed off, searching for the word.  _ “Napryazhennyye. _ Uh...tense?”

“Is that so,” Mountain mumbled curiously. He knew Sylnan well, but he hardly knew anything about the younger Vengolor, he was realizing. In fact, his only interaction with Br’aad had been when the blonde had insisted he approach Velrisa. 

Now the situation felt reversed; Vel nervously asking him to check in on Br’aad.

“I can talk to him, if he’ll let me,” Mountain offered, because really, he couldn’t deny Sylnan or Vel anything at this point. He was already used to them being around, be it during fifth hour or after school. “Or I can talk to Sylnan. Do you have any idea what’s wrong?”

Vel shook her head. 

“No. He keeps insisting that he is fine.”

“When he’s obviously not,” Mountain filled in, and Vel nodded agreement, lips pressed into a thin line. “There’s rehearsals all evening this whole week, right?”

Vel nodded. “For tech as well.”

“I’ll try,” Mountain promised, before waving his hand in a ‘get out of here’ gesture. “Enjoy your painting or sewing or...whatever you crew people do.” 

He was well aware of what the theater tech did and Velrisa knew that, and Mountain had to bite back a grin when she chuckled and gave him a tiny wave goodbye before heading off, presumably downstairs to the shop room. 

He twirled his pen between his fingers, and wondered if stage fright was all that Br’aad was dealing with right then. 

Somehow, Mountain doubted it. 

  
  
  


Ironically, the opportunity to talk to Br’aad was presented by the teen himself when he waltzed into Mountain’s office the next day. 

“I’m looking for Sylnan,” he announced, and Mountain automatically checked the clock. Lunch. “Have you seen him?”

“No, sorry,’ Mountain replied gruffly, massaging his temples. The day was crawling by. Br’aad’s face momentarily morphed into frustration, then consideration as he seemed to drift into thoughts. 

“Huh. That’s fine, I guess.” His brow was furrowed, and if Mountain had to guess, the teen was already trying to think of the next place where his brother might be. 

“Good luck with the play,” Mountain offered casually, and Br’aad’s gaze snapped back to him, confused for a second, before he grinned. 

“Oh! Thanks! I’m excited. I get to play the villain.”

“So I’ve heard,” Mountain replied dryly. “Velrisa says she knows your lines by heart apparently.”

“Oh, well-” Br’aad’s cheeks turned pink and he scratched his head as he sheepishly offered, “I tend to just start practicing when I’m bored. Especially the monologue. And it always makes people laugh if I do it really dramatically, so ah- well, tell her sorry,” He laughed. 

He seemed relatively normal to Mountain- which, to be fair, Velrisa probably knew Br’aad significantly better- but nothing about his behavior was setting off alarm bells. 

“Good luck finding your brother,” Mountain offered, deciding for the time being to let the actor go. Br’aad waved goodbye and whirled to walk out the door, calling over his shoulder as he went a;

“Tell me if you find him!”

“Okay!” Mountain called back loudly, listening until he heard the door of the front office slam. Well that...taught him absolutely nothing, actually. 

  
  
  


That day after school, instead of heading home, Mountain packed up his bag and wandered downstairs to the auditorium. It was alive with an impressive amount of bustle; a group of performers up on the stage practicing a scene- voices ringing out even without microphones, movements fluid and practiced. Mountain noticed Br’aad wasn’t on stage, and remembered he was the villain. This seemed to be a scene with the hero of the play and the very clear love interest. 

A smaller group of techies stood clustered around a pulley at the edge of the stage- from the amount of tugging going on and frustrated voices that kept growing louder and then being shushed by the director, something was stuck. 

Mountain picked his way across the rows of seats to the edge of the stage and offered his services in pulling the cord free from where it was jammed against the wall. With few sharp tugs, he managed to get the heavy wire out, handing it off to the nearest grateful techie.

Glancing around, he didn’t see Vel- presumably she was in the shop. But he did notice Sylnan- and with him, Br’aad. 

The brothers were seated half underneath a staircase on the side of the auditorium, tucked part way out of view. Sylnan was sitting, legs sprawled, back leaning against the wall; an open notebook beside him, looking half asleep but with his attention still focused on his younger brother. 

Br’aad sat cross legged beside him, and seemed to be talking or telling a story of some kind; hands gesturing fiercely along with whatever he was saying. 

Mountain didn’t particularly want to go over and insert himself into their conversation and interrupt them, but as he was about to turn away Sylnan seemed to notice him- perking up slightly and nudging Br’aad with his elbow. 

Sylnan gestured him over- prompting Br’aad to look up as well, and Mountain picked his way back across the auditorium over to them. 

“Hey Mountain,” Sylnan greeted, and Mountain grinned lightly. “Hey boys.”

“Welcome to theater’s humble abode,” Br’aad snarked with a laugh. “I hope you enjoy your stay. Snacks are for participants only unfortunately, we’re on a budget.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mountain replied dryly as Sylnan rolled his eyes.

“We were just complaining about ‘the extreme heteronormality displayed in the love scene currently underway’,” Sylnan declared primly, sitting up straighter and yawning as he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head. 

_ “I _ was complaining, you were napping,” Br’aad gripped. But a split second later he seemed to forget all about that as he jabbed a finger at the stage. “At no point in the play is there  _ any _ indication of romantic intentions between the main dude and that girl- only suddenly there’s this big love scene at the end because  _ ‘oh of course they’re gonna be in love! They’re a girl and a boy in the same media!’ _ No! Hell- there’s more sexual tension between  _ my  _ character and the hero and  _ I’m trying to kill him!” _

Sylnan snorted into his hand, trying to badly stifle a laugh as Br’aad sighed loudly, expression looking exceedingly put upon as Mountain blinked and tried to kick start his brain back into ‘functioning’ and register what the fuck had just been said to him. 

“You...alright,” Mountain nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’ll take your word on that.”

“Trust me- that’s the safest option,” Sylnan laughed, and Br’aad elbowed him in the side back, causing his older brother to wince and scrunch up his arm to shield his ribs from further assault. 

“Don’t trust him, he’s swindled half the school in poker,” Br’aad deadpanned, and Sylnan rolled his eyes again. 

“Hey! Way to sell me out!”

Mountain turned to raise an eyebrow at Sylnan, who raised both his hands in a defensive, innocent gesture. 

“I mean- I have never partaken in gambling of any kind because that is strictly against school policy and if such games like poker were played during lunch I would never ‘swindle’ because that is underhanded and crude.” Sylnan nodded resolutely, as if he were speaking absolute truth. 

Mountain sighed, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. “Boys…”

“I’m innocent!” Br’aad protested at the same time Sylnan defensively mumbled, “Well if they were stupid enough not to  _ notice-” _

“Br’aad!”

Mountain turned around at the shout, only to see one of the actors that had previously been on stage approaching. The one who played the lead, he was pretty sure. Everyone on stage seemed to be dispersing, milling around, so Mountain assumed they’d finished up their scene. 

“Time for us,” The boy nodded as he drew near, and Br’aad nodded, stretched, and yawned before hopping to his feet, and offering a not-so-apologetic ‘that’s my cue, boys.’

“Have fun being evil,” Sylnan said, looking around at his stuff scattered on the floor before beginning to clear it up into his backpack. “I’m gonna find Ugarth.”

“You should find Kath!” Br’aad called over his shoulder as he walked away, and Mountain fought down raising an eyebrow when Sylnan sighed and called back a stubborn, repeated; “I’m finding Ugarth!”

As Sylnan climbed to his feet, he turned towards Mountain apologetically. 

“Well, I’d say now you’ve properly met my brother.”

“So it would seem,” Mountain drawled, glancing briefly over at the blonde climbing the steps to the stairs. “He’s something.”

“He is,” Sylnan agreed, voice exasperated, but fond. When Mountain glanced over, Sylnan was staring at Br’aad with a slightly distant look before he visibly shook himself. “Um- I have a friend to go find.”

“Yeah well, I have paperwork to do,” Mountain grouched, and Sylnan gave him a small, amused smile. 

“You poor thing. Your job requires work?”

“Alright- get the fuck out of here before I give you detention or something,” Mountain grumbled, swatting at Sylnan as the teen easily darted out of the way and began jogging down the hall, laughing. 

“Little shit,” Mountain mumbled affectionately as he slowly began to make his way back upstairs. 


End file.
